One of best Scotland squads ever, says McCormack

Scotland coach Steve McCormack believes his World Cup squad is one of the best squads they have ever had.

NRL stars Peter Wallace, Luke Douglas and Kane Linnett join Super League Man of Steel Danny Brough amongst others in a squad that will be aiming to make in roads not only in the group stages, but in the knockout stages of the competition too.

McCormack said: “It’s a pleasure to get the players together. As in previous years, they’ve been superb. We have policy of leaving egos at the door, a ‘no big heads’ policy – everybody mucks in, whether you’ve just won Man of Steel or if you’re someone who’s winning their first cap. They’re a brilliant bunch of lads.

“It’s arguably one of best squads Scotland have ever had – there are some exciting young players, like David Scott, who’s come through the Scottish player development pathway, and Callum Phillips, who’s had a fantastic first season at Workington, to the likes of Danny Brough, Dale Ferguson and the NRL players. 

“It’s a really exciting squad that I’ve got to work with and I’m expecting big things.”

Wallace, Douglas and Linnett are due to arrive on Thursday morning, but are expected to train with their team-mates that afternoon, with the view to possibly making an appearance in the warm-up game against Papua New Guinea at Featherstone on Saturday.

McCormack added: “We’ll see how they cope.

“It’s a long journey from Australia but we’ve sent things over to help them deal with jet-lag and they’re quite experienced players. I’ve no doubt they’ll be welcomed by the coaching staff and players. 

“We’ve done our research on them – we know they are quality players and, more importantly, quality people, so I’m sure they’ll fit in.”